Impulse control disorders and punding in Parkinson's disease: the need for a structured interview

Abstract

Introduction: Impulse control disorders (ICD) including hypersexuality, compulsive gambling, buying, eating, shopping and dopaminergic medication use, have been reported to occur frequently in Parkinson's disease (PD). Punding (complex, repetitive, excessive, non-goal oriented behaviours) have also been described. As patients may not report such behaviours to their neurologist, ICD and punding appear to be under-recognised in clinical practice.

Method: We Prospectively screened 216 consecutive patients (102 men, age 77±5 years) with idiopathic PD. Patients and their caregivers were encouraged to complete a questionnaire with six questions on symptoms related to ICD and punding. In addition, we obtained a random sample matched by age and sex of 216 patients with idiopathic PD, and retrospective analysis of symptoms related to ICD and punding who had been referred spontaneously.

Results: Only 20 cases (9.26%) of 216 patients with PD who answered the questionnaire prospectively presented ICD and / or punding, some involving more than one type of repetitive behaviour and reward-seeking: 7 hypersexuality (3.24%), 2 pathological gambling (0.93%), 4 compulsive buying (1.85%), 2 compulsive eating (0.93%), 8 punding (3.70%) and 1 abuse of medication (0.46%).Of the retrospective sample of 216 patients age- and gender-matched, only 5 patients (2,31%) had spontaneously mentioned these symptoms: 2 hypersexuality (0.93%), 2 pathological gambling (0.93%) and 1 punding (0.46%).

Conclusions: Patients with PD do not spontaneously admit the presence of ICD or punding and these behaviours appear to be under-recognised in clinical practice. A screening questionnaire is needed to ensure their detection.